Energy

Dawson Creek lights way for cities going solar

Dawson Creek has both solar thermal and solar photovoltaic systems installed on the roof of City Hall. Kevin Henderson is in charge of both infrastructure and sustainable development for the city of Dawson Creek.

EDMONTON - Dawson Creek is in the heart of oil and gas country in the Northern Rockies and is famously located at Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway. Yet, everywhere you look are signs of green energy. From solar powered speed signs to solar thermal hot water systems on the majority of its public buildings you quickly get a sense that this city is already looking beyond fossil fuels.

The pièce de résistance is the Bear Mountain wind park — 34 wind turbines occupy the western skyline of Dawson Creek like green energy sentinels. The 102-megawatt wind farm consists of 34 German-made Enercon wind turbines that produce much more energy than the 12,000 residents of Dawson Creek need.

Standing in front of one of the giant 78-metre turbines City Councillor Cheryl Shuman smiles wryly when I call it a wind “farm.” It’s a “park” not a wind farm she corrects me and rapidly lists off what people use the space for — hiking, climbing, picnics, cross-country skiing, ATVing and even birdwatching. The gearless three-megawatt Enercon turbines are whisper quiet and it really is one of the crown jewels of Dawson Creek.

Bear Mountain was the first large wind project in B.C. and it was developed by a local group of people in the Peace Energy Cooperative with considerable public support from residents. In Dawson Creek this commitment to green energy is also evident among politicians, city staff and in the city’s award winning efforts to produce renewable energy, increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

Municipal Carbon Tax

In a move that raised eyebrows and excited the hearts of carbon pricing wonks everywhere the City of Dawson Creek imposed a $100 per tonne levy on its own greenhouse gas emissions. The money goes into the Dawson Creek Carbon Fund and is used to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

“Last year when we did our audits we emitted 3,600 tonnes, so we made sure we put aside $360,000 into a separate fund and that fund can only be used for green initiatives within the community,” says Mayor Mike Bernier.

This city is pretty serious about going green. They have completed energy audits of public buildings, carried out electrical retrofits and installed a solar photovoltaic system right on City Hall.

The city has cut its use of natural gas by installing solar thermal hot water systems on city hall, the firehall, the police station and at the airport.

This thinking also extends to vehicle purchasing where the city is “rightsizing” its fleet, purchasing hybrids and has its first plug-in hybrid, a Toyota Prius.

Dawson Creek even has it’s own energy manager, a position funded by BC Hydro. Matthew MacWilliam’s first project will be to bring in LED street lights to replace the existing high-pressure sodium street lights. These LEDs will use about one-third of the energy. You multiply that over the 500 lights the city is responsible for and you start to see some real savings.

Edmonton’s huge Solar Potential

Like Dawson Creek, Edmonton is one of the sunnier cities in Canada — our solar energy profile compares to cities like Rio de Janeiro and the city administration knows it. That’s why in 2010 it offered a solar rebate for home and businesses owners who installed a grid-connected solar-electric system. The project had a small budget, $200,000 divided between residential and commercial, and it sold out faster than Folk Fest tickets. The 15 residential and seven commercial systems helped the city understand the barriers to getting these systems installed and working.

According to the Renewable Energy Task Force Report submitted to council in May solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal hot water systems “present the most significant strategic opportunities for Edmonton.” Solar PV could generate 10 per cent of Edmonton’s electricity.

Council sent the report back to city staff to flesh out how Edmonton can support renewable energy development. Only time will tell whether Edmonton dabbles or dives deep with solar like it did with our world class waste management system.

While Edmonton is just taking baby steps with renewable energy, it’s instructive to look at what a smaller, nimbler city like Dawson Creek can do. You could forgive Councillor Cheryl Shuman when she calls her home city “awesome Dawson,” but if you stay in town long enough, you just might start to agree with her. This little northern city is going carbon neutral, right in the heart of oil and gas country.

David Dodge is the producer and host of Green Energy Futures, a multimedia series presented at greenenergyfutures.ca. The series is supported by TD, Suncor Energy and the Pembina Institute.

Dawson Creek has both solar thermal and solar photovoltaic systems installed on the roof of City Hall. Kevin Henderson is in charge of both infrastructure and sustainable development for the city of Dawson Creek.

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